Missing the Mark

Many hailed the game as the one to determine which of the two teams would go on to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Championship.  It featured the top-seeded teams in the United States: the University of Alabama and Louisiana State University.  LSU won the game 9-6 in overtime.  No touchdowns were scored in the game by either team; all of the points were scored by field goal kickers.  There were also missed opportunities to score by the kickers for the team from Alabama.  These kickers, Cade Foster and Jeremy Shelley, have received a lot of criticism and blame for missing 4 out of 6 field goals between them.

A previous kicker for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Leigh Tiffin, expressed sympathy for Foster and Shelley in his blog.  Tiffin can relate to the current kickers.  As a freshman, Tiffin missed three field-goal attempts and a point-after-touchdown kick in a 24-23 overtime loss at Arkansas.  He also experienced success when he helped the Tide go undefeated and win a national championship in 2009.

Responding to the criticisms leveled against Foster and Shelley, Tiffin sought to encourage the forlorn kickers by reflecting on some lessons learned from his own experiences.  One of his lessons was: “Always separate your personal worth from your athletic performance.” *

Before WE point fingers at those who have failed in one area of life or another, we need to understand this truth: each and everyone of us have “missed the mark” in our lives.  This is the literal meaning of one of the words (Gr. hamartano) that are translated “sin” in Scripture.  “For ALL have sinned (‘missed the mark’) and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  The fact that we have all missed the mark can not only bring feelings of guilt and disappointment, but also the greatest penalty for sin: eternal destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).

But God loves us so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross so that we might be forgiven for “missing the mark” and have the prospect of living eternally with Him in heaven when this life is over.  “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

God will save those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), repent
of their sins (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).

Yes, we have ALL “missed the mark,” but we may gain the ultimate victory through Jesus Christ!  “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Won’t YOU accept His offer of forgiveness and eternal life?

David A. Sargent, Minister